Wildfires break out in Portugal, Spain

LISBON, Portugal: Hundreds of firefighters battled fresh wildfires in Portugal and Spain on Saturday, civil protection authorities said, following a summer of devastating blazes in the region.

The biggest fire raged in Seia, central Portugal, where 600 firefighters were deployed to tackle the flames, fanned by strong winds, and several roads had to be closed, the civil protection agency said.

The priority was “to protect homes”, the Lusa news agency quoted a civil protection spokesperson as saying. Police said had they arrested a person suspected of starting the fire.

In Spain, authorities confined the small village of Castromil in the northwest as a precaution on Saturday due to a nearby fire.

The area was hit hard by a wave of devastating fires in August. One fire there revived on Saturday due to strong winds, a source in the nearby Castilla and Leon region environment ministry said.

Spain on Sunday ended a state of emergency that had been in effect for several weeks due to one of the worst waves of wildfires to hit the country in recent years.

Four people were killed and over 300,000 hectares burnt.

Central and northern Portugal were also ravaged in August by devastating wildfires that killed four people and caused several injuries.

The Portugal fires destroyed about 254,000 hectares, the worst such toll since 2017, according to data from the National Institute for Nature and Forest Conservation.

Portugal experienced the hottest summer since 1931 this year, the national meteorological agency said on Friday.